Clamp



Oct. 26, 1965 K. REINER 3,213,509

CLAMP (HOOK FLANGE CONNECTION) Filed Oct. 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EE/WVEW/ 85/4/59,

I N VB NTOR.

United States Patent 3,213,509 CLAMP (HOOK FLANGE CONNECTION) KennethReiner, 7875 Telegraph Road, Pico Rivera, Calif. Filed Oct. 25, 1963,Ser. No. 318,952 12 Claims. (Cl. 24252) This invention relates to clampsand more particularly to two-piece metal clamps of the type wherein aspring tongue, which is integral with one of the pieces, engages theother piece in such a manner as to urge the clamping portions of the twopieces towards a normally closed position as well as to hold the clamppieces in assembled relationship with one another.

Clamps of the type under discussion are obviously of general utility.However, for purposes of example and illustration, a clamp of style anddesign particularly adapted for use as a pin curl clip is describedherein and shown in the accompanying drawing. Such clamps are extremelypopular for use in the setting of womens hair, and a leading examplethereof is disclosed in U.S. Reissue Patent No. 23,163, issued toKenneth Reiner and Armand Braga on November 1, 1949.

It is characteristic of clamps of the type disclosed in theaforementioned patent and of other contemporary two-piece clamp designsthat the spring member is a tongue which is integral with one of themembers and extends across the pivot area of the clamp into engagementwith a portion of the other member to bias the clamping portions of thetwo members towards closed position. It is also characteristic of someof such designs that the integral spring tongue is provided with aflange in the form of an end portion which is sharply bent along a lineperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the spring tongue to provide ahook or ledge which is adapted to engage a surface on the other piece tohold the pieces together as well as to perform the spring biasingfunction. Structures involving flanges bent substantiallyperpendicularly to the main thin longitudinal dimensions of the springtongues as described, are disadvantageous in that they are difficult tomanufacture since the formation of such sharp angles at the very endedges of narrow, thin, fragile and highly resilient metal parts is adifiicult operation, requiring costly tooling and tooling maintenance,and may result in a good deal of breakage and waste.

' The present invention provides improved clamp structures wherein thehooking or connecting function of the end portions of the spring tonguesis performed without resorting to the disadvantageous end hook or ledgearrangements described in the preceding paragraph and such improvedstructures are further advantageous in that they provide an improved andsimplified interlocking of the two pieces of which the clamps are made.

The advantageous results of the present invention are achieved byforming the spring tongues with end portions which are formed fromenlargement outwardly from the longitudinal centers of the tongues, asdistinguished from the sharply bent end flanges of the prior art and byproviding surfaces on the other of the clamp pieces adapted to beengaged by said enlarged end portions to hold the clamp pieces togetherand to bias them to closed position.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improvedclamp constructions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide improvedmulti-piece clamp constructions wherein integral spring tongue means onone of the clamp pieces is engaged, as by hooking, with surfaces onanother of the pieces to hold the pieces together and to bias the clampjaws thereof towards a normally closed position.

Yet another object of the present invention is. to provide clamps of theclass described wherein the said hooking function is accomplishedwithout the requirement that the spring tongue be sharply bent.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide clamps of theclass described wherein the said hooking function is accomplishedwithout the requirement that the spring tongue be sharply bent at itsend along a line perpendicular to its longitudinal axis.

These and other objects and the advantages attendant thereto will beapparent from the following detailed specification, taken in conjunctionwith the appended drawing, wherein like reference numerals have beenapplied to like parts throughout, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a clamp according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the clamp of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the bottom member of the clamp of FIGURES 1to 3;

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view of the clamp of FIGURES 1-3, inreduced scale, showing the two members which comprise the clampdisengaged from one another;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a modified version of clamp accordingto the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the clamp of FIGURE 6, in an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation of the clamp of FIG- URES 6 and 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the bottommember of the clamp of FIGURES 6, 7 and 8, showing the details of thepivot and hook engaging areas thereof; and

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to the exploded perspective view of FIGURE5, illustrating a third modification under the present invention.

Reference is now made to the drawings wherein are shown three examplesof clamps according to the present invention. In the examples shown theparts are of resilient metal material but any other resilient materialcapable of being so formed may be used. FIGURESl to 5 show one exampleand the clamp therein is a twopiece clamp comprising a bottom member anda top member 22. The top member 22 comprises a handle portion 24 and aclamping portion 26 angularly related to the handle portion to provide apivot line or area 28 therebetween. The clamping portion may be of anydesirable configuration but is shown (in FIGURES 1 to 5) as comprising apair of spaced parallel longitudinally extending legs.

Top member 22 is also provided with sockets 30in the form of holestherethrough, the said sockets being laterally aligned with one anotherin the general vicinity of the pivot area 28.

A spring tongue 32 is preferably stuck from the material of the member22, of an extent to reach across and beyond the pivot area 28 and is ofgenerally bowed configuration, as shown. It is an important feature ofthe present invention that the free end of spring tongue 32 is laterallyenlarged into a generally T shape to provide ears 32 which extendoutwardly from the longitudinal center of the spring tongue in the planeof the material thereof. The said ears 32 serve (in a manner to be laterdescribed) to cooperate in holding the members 20 and 22 together andthis advantageously is accomplished without the prior necessity forsharply bending the material of the slender, resilient tongue, asdiscussed in the introductory portion of this specification.

The bottom member 20 of FIGURES 1 to 5 comprises a unitary member havinga handle portion 36, a down-' wardly angular intermediate portion 38,and an outwardly extending clamping portion 40 which may besubstantially parallel to the handle portion 36. On the handle portion36 in the vicinity of the line of juncture with the intermediate portion38, a pair of spurs 42 are struck upwardly from the material of thehandle, as shown. In the intermediate section 38, there are provided apair of spaced upwardly struck triangular tabs 44, the said tabs beingarranged to provide openings 45 between themselves and the material ofthe portion 38 which face toward the clamping portion 40 of the member20.

The members 20 and 22 of FIGURES 1 to 5, as described above, areassembled by insertion of the ears 34 on spring tongue 32 into theopenings 45 provided by the tabs 44 and by insertion of the spurs 34 ofmember 20 into the openings 30 of member 22. The shape and length of thespring tongue 32 is such that such assembly provides a prestressing ofthe spring in a direction tending to pull upwardly and backwardly(towards the handle portions 24 and 36) on the tabs 44. The forcesexerted by such prestressing tend to hold the pieces together in thevicinity of the pivot area 38, the spurs 42 and the sockets 30. Also,since the spring tongue 32 has its root in the handle portion 24 andextends across the pivot area the clamping portions 26 and 40 areconstantly biased toward closed position. It should be noted that thespurs 42 and sockets 30 tend to fix the longitudinal relationship ofmembers 20 and 22 to one another as well as to inhibit relative laterallinear or angular shifting of said members and that the tabs 44 and theears 34 of spring tongue 32 prevent the members from separating andprevent forward motion (toward the clamping portion) of the bottommember 20 relative to top member 22.

In operation, the clamp is opened by pressing handle portions 24 and 36together to cause the members 20 and 22 to pivot relative to one anotherin the pivot area 28, since the top member is adapted to rock upon thesurface of the bottom member along the bend line defining said pivotarea. Such motion further stresses the resilient prestressed springtongue 32 so that release of the handle portions results in said springtongue pulling the clamping portions 26 and 40 back to the normallyclosed position best shown in FIGURE 2.

It should be noted that the above described construction completelyavoids the necessity for providing sharp bends in critical areas of thesensitive spring tongue element thereby eliminating manufacturingdifficulties attendant when such sharp bends are required. It is note- 4Worthy in this regard that elimination of such practices also makespossible the use of cheaper materials and the use of simpler techniquesbecause it is unnecessary to adapt tooling to accommodate the grain ofsheet metal used in the manufacture of devices of the class involved tothe extent previously required.

FIGURES 6 to 9 relate to a modification of the present invention whereinthe means for engaging the ears 34 on spring tongue 32 are of a.different type, although the arrangement is within the same generalprinciple. The modified version is shown as applied to a pin curl clipof the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,090,389, issued May 21, 1963, toEckman. Pin curl clips of the type shown in the aforementioned Eckmanpatent are characterized in that the bottom member thereof is longerthan the top member but is bent back upon itself to form a short arm 50and a long arm which provides the clamping portion 40 and a handleportion 36a, the said long and short arms being joined by a bight area52. The short arm 50 provides a platform upon which a top member 22 ispivotally mounted. As best seen in FIGURE 9, the short arm 50 comprisesedge portions having spurs 42a (similar to the spurs 42 of FIGURES l toturned upwardly therefrom and adapted to cooperate with the bend line 28and the sockets 30 of the top member to define the rocking or pivot lineof the clamp. The short arm 50 also includes an elongated spring arm 54struck 4 slightly downwardly from the material thereof between the spurs42a and of greater length than the length of material from the bight 52to the spurs 4261 O t the free end of the spring arm 54 is on the sideof the pivot area opposite from the handle portion 36a.

The free end of spring arm 54 has outwardly extending tabs 44a havingcutout portions 45a, so that, when the tabs 4411 are bent upwardly fromthe plane of the spring arm the cut-out portions 45a provide overhangingledges or flanges adapted to receive and hold the ears 34 on springtongue 32. Thus, the tabs 44a, and the cutout portions 45a, while ofdifferent configurations than the tabs 44 and the openings 45 of theFIGURES l to 5 modification perform precisely the same functions as saidelements.

The clamp of FIGURES 6 to 9 is assembled by insertion of the spurs 42aof bottom member 20 into the sockets 30 of top member 22 and byengagement of the ears 34 of spring tongue 32 under the overlyingflanges formed by the cut-out portions 45a of the tabs 44a. Theoperation of the assembled clamp is obviously similar to that of theFIGURES 1 to 5 modification.

The essential structural difference between the FIG- URES '6 to 9'modification and that of FIGUR'ES 1 to 5 is that the former requiresbending of the metal in a sharp angle in an area where the spring tonguemakes its connection of the two members which comprise the clamp. It ispointed out, however, that such bending -is not perpendicular to thenarrow dimension of the spring arm but rather along the length.Moreover, the basic advantage of both modifications is that the mainspring element (spring tongue 32) is not required to be sharply bent sothat separation of the parts by mutilation of the hooking portion of thespring tongue can be effected only by shearing off the cars 34 whichwould require much greater forces than necessary to simply bend back aturned over lioo-k edge.

FIGURE 10 shows a third modification and is in all respects similar tothe FIGURE 1 to 5 species except that it is shown :as applied to abottom member in which the spurs 4215 are formed on raised pivotplatform arms 56 of the type which are disclosed in iappli'ca'nts priorU.S. Patent -No. 3,101,725 issued August 27, 1963. The assembly andoperation of the FIGURE 10 species and the advantages thereof areprecisely the same as have been thoroughly discussed in connection withFIGURES l to 5 above.

From the above it may be seen that the present invention providesimproved spring-biased two-piece clamp constructions of the type inwhich the spring end is interengaged with other structure to perform thedual functrons of hold-ing the two pieces together and of biasing theclamping jaws constantly towards the closed position. The improvementsare characterized in that it is not necessary under the presentinvention to sharply bend the thin spring tongue adjacent its end in adirection perpendicular to its length so that the inherent structuraland manufacturing difficulties of such arrangements are obviated.

Obviously, many variations in shape, size, and specific relationship ofparts are possible within the spirit of the foregoing specification.Similarly, While the single material mentioned herein is resilient metalit should be obvious that any resilient material can .be used if it iscapable of being properly formed by any method to configurations of thegeneral nature illustrated and described 111 this specification.Accordingly, it is to be understood that this invention is not to belimited by the specific illustratrve examples described herein butrather by the scope and language of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, eachplate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integraltherewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates beingangu'la-rly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to providerocking movement of the superposed plates relative to one another aboutthe line of juncture of said angularly related portions when the handleportions of the plates are moved togther and apart, correlated .pivotmeans integral respectively with said plates in the general area of saidline of juncture to prevent relative longitudinal and transversemovement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from one of saidplates, said tongue being attached to said plate at one side of saidpivot means and extending longitudinally of said plate across said pivotmeans, the said tongue having an enlarged end portion which extendslaterally outwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greaterextent than the adjoining portion of the tongue, the said other of saidplates including cut-out portions and abutments adjacent the openingsformed by said cut-out portions, said albutments being above the planeof said openings, the enlarged end portion of said tongue being insertedinto said cut-out portions and engaging said a-butments whereby to holdthe plates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clampingportions toward their closed position.

2. A clamp according to claim 1, wherein said enlarged end portioncomprises laterally extending ears in the plane of the material of thetongue to provide a generally T shaped configuration.

3. A clamp according to claim '2, wherein said cut-out portions andabutments are provided by triangular tabs struck up from the material ofthe said other of said plates on the side of the pivot means to whichthe enlarged end portion of the tongue extends, the said tabs havingraised portions to admit said ears, and the material adjacent said tabsserving :as the abutrnents.

4. A clamp according ot claim 2, wherein the said other of said plateshas a spring arm struck down therel'rom, the said arm having a free endlocated to be engaged :by the enlarged end portion of said springtongue, said free end having a pair of upwardly extending lugs, saidlugs having the said cutout portions therein to prorvide notches andoverhanging ledges, the laterally extending ears of said spring tonguebeing engaged in said notches.

5. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, eachplate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integraltherewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates beingangularly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to providerocking movement of the superposed plates relative to one another aboutthe line of juncture of said angularly related portions when the handleportions of the plates are moved together and apart, cooperating pivotmeans on said top and [bottom plates in the general area of said line ofjuncture to prevent relative longitudinal and transverse movementbetween said plates, a spring tongue struck from one of said plates,said tongue being attached to said plate at one side or said pivot meansand extending longitudinally of said plate across said pivot means, thesaid tongue having an enlarged end portion which extends laterallyoutwardly from the longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent thanthe adjoining portion of the tongue, the said other of said platesincluding out out portions and abutments adjacent the openings formed bysaid cutout portions, said abutments being above the plane of saidopenings, the enlarged end portion of said tongue being inserted intosaid cut-out portions and engaging said abutments whereby to hold theplates in assembled relation and to constantly urge the clampingportions toward their closed position.

\6. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, eachplate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integraltherewith, the handle portion of at least one of said plates beingangularly related to the clamping portion thereof whereby to providepivotal movement of the superposed plates relative to one another aboutan axis located substantially at the line of 6 juncture of saidangularly related portions when the handle portions of the plates aremoved together and apart, one of said plates having laterally alignedspaced spurs struck there-from in the area of said axis and extendingtoward the adjacent surface of the other plate, said other plate havingsimilarly positioned and spaced openings providing sockets into whichsaid spurs extend to provide correlated pivot means which preventrelative longitudinal and transverse movement between said plates, aspring tongue struck from one of said plates, said tongue being attachedto said plate at one side of said pivot means and extendinglongitudinally of said plate across said pivot means, the said tonguehaving an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly fromthe longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoiningportion of the tongue, the said other of said plates including cutaoutportions and albutments adjacent the openings formed by said cutaoutportions, said abut ments being [above the plane of said openings, theen larged end portion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-outportions and engaging said abutments whereby to hold the plates inassembled relation and to constantly urge the clamping portions towardtheir closed position.

7. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and bottom plates, eachplate comprising a handle portion and a clamping portion integraltherewith, the handle portion of at least the top .plate being angularlyrelated to the clamping portion thereof whereby to provide pivotalmovement of the superposed plates relative to one another about an [axislocated substantially at the line of juncture of said angularly relatedportions when the handle portions of the plates are moved together andapart, one of said plates having laterally aligned spaced spurs strucktherefrom in the area of said axis and extending toward the adjacentsurtace of the other plate, said other plate having similarly positionedand spaced openings providing sockets into which said spurs extend toprovide correlated pivot means which prevent relative longitudinal andtransverse movement between said plates, a spring tongue struck from thematerial of said top plate, said spring tongue being attached at itsroot to the handle portion of the top plate and having a free endextending across said axis toward the clamping portion, the said tonguehaving an enlarged end portion which extends laterally outwardly fromthe longitudinal center thereof to a greater extent than the adjoiningportion of the tongue, said bottom plate including cut-out portions andabutments adjacent the openings stormed by said cut out portions, saidabutments being above the plane of said openings, the enlarged endportion of said tongue being inserted into said cut-out portions andengaging said abutments whereby to hold the plates in assembled relationand to constantly urge the clamping portions toward their closedposition.

8. A clamp according to claim 7, wherein said enlarged end portioncomprises laterally extending ears in the plane of the material of thetongue to provide a generally T- shaped configuration.

9. A clamp according to claim 8, wherein said cutaout portions andabutments are provided by triangular tabs struck up from the material ofthe said bottom plate on the side of the pivot means to which theenlarged end portion of the tongue extends, the said tabs having raisedportions to admit said ears, and the material adjacent said tabs servingas the abutments.

10. A clamp according to claim '8, wherein said bottom plate has aspring arm struck down therefrom, the said arm having a free end locatedto be engaged by the enlarged end portion of said spring tongue, saidfree end having a pair of upwardly extending lugs, said lugs having thesaid cut-out portions therein to provide notches and overhanging ledges,the laterally extending ears of said spring tongue being engaged in saidnotches and retained therein by said overhanging ledges.

11. A clamp according to claim 7, wherein said spurs are on said bottomplate and said sockets on said top plate, the material of said bottomplate being struck up to form spring arms, the said spurs being at theends of said sprin g arms.

12. A clamp comprising superposed elongated top and [bottom plates, saidbottom plate comprising a short end wall having a pair of integral legsextending outwardly in the same direction from opposite edges thereof toform a bight area between said legs and adjacent said end wall, One ofsaid legs being relatively short, the other of the legs being ofrelatively greater length and providing a handle :portion and a clampingportion adjacent said end wall, the top plate comprising a handleportion and a clamping portion integral with and angularly relatedthereto to provide a pivot line, the short leg of said 'bottom platehaving spurs bent upwardly therefrom, said spurs being laterally alignedand spaced from one another, there being holes forming sockets in saidtop member, said holes being in the area of juncture of the handle andclamping portions of said top member and spaced similarily to thespacing of said spurs, said spurs being engaged in said holes, a springtongue struck from the material of said top plate, said spring tonguebeing attached at its root to the handle portion of the top plate andhaving a free end extending across said axis toward the clampingporrtion, the tree end portion of said spring tongue having laterallyextending ears in the plane of the material of the tongue to provide agenerally T shaped configuration, the said short leg of said bottommember having a spring arm of greater length than the portion thereoffrom which said spurs extend, said spring arm being struck down from thematerial of said short arm and having a free end located to be engagedby the enlarged end portion of said spring tongue, said free end havinga pair of upwardly extending lugs, said lugs having cut-out port-ionstherein to provide notches and overhanging ledges, the lateralyextending ears of said spring tongue being engaged in said notches.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,163 1 1/49Reiner et a1 13-2-t46..1 97 1519 10/ 10 'Brannen 1 3'246 X '2,1 23,79'67/38 Peters 2425 9 X 2,872,718 2/59 Jackson et al. 24.-25 Z 2,947,055 8/60 MioHenry 24-259 X 3,072,127 1/63 Caldera. 13248 3,090,389 5/6 3Eek-man 1532-41 3,101,725 8/63 R'einer 132-46 X DON IJEY J. STOCKING,Primary Examiner.

1. A CLAMP COMPRISING SUPERPOSED ELONGATED TOP AND BOTTOM PLATES, EACHPLATE COMPRISING A HANDLE PORTION AND A CLAMPING PORTION INTEGRALTHEREWITH, THE HANDLE PORTION OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLATES BEINGANGULARLY RELATED TO THE CLAMPING PORTION THEREOF WHEREBY TO PROVIDEROCKING MOVEMENT OF THE SUPERPOSED PLATES RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER ABOUTTHE LINE OF JUNCTURE OF SAID ANGULARLY RELATED PORTIONS WHEN THE HANDLEPORTIONS OF THE PLATES ARE MOVED TOGETHER AND APART, CORRELATED PIVOTMEANS INTEGRAL RESPECTIVELY WITH SAID PLATES IN THE GENERAL AREA OF SAIDLINE OF JUNCTURE TO PREVENT RELATIVE LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSEMOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID PLATES, A SPRING TONGUE STRUCK FROM ONE OF SAIDPLATES, SAID TONGUE BEING ATTACHED TO SAID PLATE AT ONE SIDE OF SAIDPIVOT MEANS AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID PLATE ACROSS SAID PIVOTMEANS, THE SAID TONGUE HAVING AN ENLARGED END PORTION WHICH EXTENDSLATERALLY OUTWARDLY FROM THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER THEREOF TO A GREATEREXTENT THAN THE ADJOINING PORTION OF THE TONGUE, THE SAID OTHER OF SAIDPLATES INCLUDING CUT-OUT PORTIONS AND ABUTMENTS ADJACENT THE OPENINGSFORMED BY SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS, SAID ABUTMENTS BEING ABOVE THE PLANE OFSAID OPENINGS, THE ENLARGED END PORTION OF SAID TONGUE BEING INSERTEDINTO SAID CUT-OUT PORTIONS AND ENGAGING SAID ABUTMENTS WHEREBY TO HOLDTHE PLATES IN ASSEMBLED RELATION AND TO CONSTANTLY URGE THE CLAMPINGPORTIONS TOWARD THEIR CLOSED POSITION.